Sophia has fairgoers in palm of hand

Gold and silver stars hang from the edges of her tent. Figurines of wizards gaze out from her table, and a large crystal ball sits right beside her.

Unlike the other booth operators at the Panhandle-South Plains Fair who loudly hawked cotton candy, midway rides and a chance to win a stuffed animal, Sister Sophia sat back quietly Saturday, letting patrons come to her.

Sister Sophia, who uses that stage name only - no last name, sells information on the past, present and future, according to her airbrushed sign.

''Some people, they say to me, 'Are you for real?' '' she said. ''And what I tell them is, 'Let me prove it to you.' And, I usually do.''

This is the eighth year for her to have a booth at the fair. However, she said she and her family have read palms, tarot cards and the crystal ball for Lubbock residents for the past 35 years.

''About a week or two weeks before the fair comes into town, there's a slope in business,'' she said.''This gives me something to do while we're in that slope. And, you get to meet different people from all walks of life.''

Those interested in her services can have a $5 palm reading, or two palms for $10. She also reads tarot cards for $20 and throws in two palm readings for free as a special deal for fairgoers.

She said she can give the most precise reading from her crystal ball, passed down to her from her grandmother. A crystal reading costs $50.

''The crystal gives more detail, and it's usually a longer reading, too,'' she said. ''Not everyone can read a crystal. That takes complete psychic ability. That is something you have to master.''

Sister Sophia said her psychic ability is something that runs in the family. She said everyone in her family possesses ability, and she has been aware of her ability since she was 6.

''To me, it's such a normal act,'' she said. ''I can't put it into words. I would know when someone was coming over to the house, or where something was that I couldn't find.

''Your parents, they guide you through it because they've gone through it, too. So they sort of smooth it out.''

However, she said she is not a mind reader, nor is she a witch.

''I'm a religious person,'' she said. ''I'm a Catholic and I believe in God. I don't believe in witchcraft or casting spells, though they do exist. You know with kids who play with Ouija boards? I tell them they shouldn't mess around with them because they don't know what they're doing. When the devil does something for you, he usually wants something in return.''

One of the perks Sister Sophia said she gets from her job is helping people with problems.

''Everybody needs help in some way or another,'' she said. ''I'm happy to do anything I can. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something when I help people - kind of like a happiness from within.''

Lubbock resident Norma Hill, who saw Sister Sophia on Saturday afternoon, said she received a palm reading and, according to her, found out exactly what she needed to know.

As she sat listening, she kept wiping tears from her face with tissue.

''I can cry at the drop of a hat with the recent tragedies in my life,'' she said. ''I've always wanted to call her and do the phone thing, but then I saw her here. So, I just wanted to see what she'd tell me.''

Hill, whose son died in March 1999 in Lubbock after a pipe bomb blew up in his lap, said she asked Sister Sophia about both of her sons.

''It is a comfort and something to think about,'' Hill said about her reading. ''She said my main concern is with my son who is still alive. She said I would have a long life and that I would be with my other son that I lost eventually.''

Kandi Robbins of Lubbock also decided the time had come for her to have her first psychic reading on Saturday. Though her $20 tarot reading gave her most of the answers she wanted, she said she still had questions.

''It was kind of vague, but at the same time, precise in a lot of ways,'' Robbins said. ''I asked about my family moving down here and she said I wasn't ready for them to be down here, which is true.

''She also said I was probably going to have another child, but she couldn't tell me if I was pregnant right now. That's the whole reason why I went there.''